Prior research has determined that there are still gender barriers that women must overcome to reach administrative positions in many employment settings. Gender barriers to leadership positions have been and continue to be a sensitive matter that must be addressed by community college administrators. This exploratory quantitative research study examined rural community college administrators’ perceptions about gender barriers and explored administrators’ perceptions about management styles based on gender. The study population included 596 community college administrators in the United States. Of those, 128 community college administrators chose to participate in this study and completed a 42-item researcher designed survey instrument that was administered electronically. The instrument included 7 perception items about the participants’ current administrative supervisor’s characteristics, 7 perception items about the most important characteristics of effective administrators, 15 perception items about gender characteristics related to barriers to becoming a community college administrator, and 13 demographic characteristic questions. Findings from the study indicate that males and females have similar perceptions about the administrative leadership characteristics of their supervisors and similar perceptions about gender barriers to administrative leadership positions in community colleges. However, data collected showed a statistically significant difference between male and female perceptions about the importance of the following administrative leadership characteristics needed to be an effective leader: straightorward, inspiring, forward-looking, intelligent, and fair-minded.

This research study began with an interest in understanding how social workers address poverty and/or low income in hospital settings. It discusses the ways in which hospital social workers address poverty in front line practice, while connecting how the experience of poverty and/or low income can further complicate one’s health and access to healthcare. This paper also discusses the ways that macro political ideologies, structural barriers and societal stigma impact how social workers address poverty in frontline hospital practice. Poverty is a social determinant of health, which is why understanding how hospital social workers address poverty in front line practice is important. Given the influence of neoliberalism and its impact on the growing gap between the rich and poor, it is suggested that poverty and low/income will continue throughout Canadian society. This paper also discusses, how accessing healthcare and navigating the system may become difficult for those experiencing poverty. This study is based on a thematic analysis of the findings from six semi-structured interviews with individuals practicing as social workers in two large teaching hospitals in southern Ontario. The data is interpreted and discussed using a critical framework, specifically, anti-oppressive practice and Marx theory. The subsequent findings indicate that in practice front-line social workers address poverty in practical ways. Major themes that emerged from this research include: addressing stigma, navigating “the system”, systemic and structural barriers, no family, no friends, and connecting with resources. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Objective: Refugees experience food challenges upon resettling in their host country. However, there is currently limited Canadian literature that reviews food security among refugees who resettle in Canada. This thesis will assess the barriers and facilitators to food security that influence the dietary changes of refugees who resettle in Hamilton, Ontario, from the perspective of the service providers as well as the refugees. Methods: A qualitative method was applied. Nine individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with service providers in Hamilton. Twelve refugees participated in one of three focus group interviews conducted in the languages of Arabic, Somali, or Spanish. Interviews were transcribed. The data was coded using a qualitative analysis software, NVivo 10. A social ecological model was used to analyse how facilitators and barriers at various levels of influence affect food security among refugees. Levels of influence included: intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy. Findings: While several diet-related health concerns were mentioned by refugees, it is difficult to attribute these to diet-related causes since the psychological stress of resettlement was also cited as a causal factor of refugees. While both service providers and refugees agree upon certain facilitators and barriers to food security among refugees at each level of influence in the social ecological model, there were also differences between the two perspectives identified. Different issues were also identified between refugee claimants and government assisted refugees (GARs) who came from refugee camps. Conclusion: The complex relationship between various factors identified at different levels of the social ecological model demonstrate a need for a collaborative, multi-level intervention approach to optimize changes required to improve food security among refugees living in Hamilton. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No description available.

Understanding of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward health issues, such as physical inactivity, within certain populations are often studied to design programs and interventions specific to communities. A total of six elementary schools were chosen in the Mississippi Delta, two elementary schools within three school districts, to provide a deeper understanding of barriers to physical activity. Fortyour parents and guardians of elementary aged children participated in focus groups to discuss current physical activity levels and factors impacting and limiting local children’s physical activity levels. The most frequently reported barriers were environmental issues such as fear of children’s safety, lack of resources, and individual and social constraints such as time, parental influences, and television viewing. Concerns about safety and violence were the most frequently mentioned issues among participants. Collection through other methods of research is needed to further understand and assess the problems faced in this region.

This dissertation is motivated by an overarching research question: How do firms leverage external resources residing in their ego network (portfolio of alliances) and their clusters in order to innovate in a sustained manner? Research suggests that firms often struggle and falter in their innovation efforts. However, past research has paid little systematic attention on why firms struggle in their innovation efforts. Further, though network and clusters—the key sources of external resources—may overlap in several ways, the extant literature has not examined their joint effect on a firm's technological innovation. In this dissertation, using a longitudinal research design I examine how the characteristics of a firm's ego network and of its cluster independently and jointly impact its patent output in the U.S. semiconductor industry. The research provides a framework showing how networks and clusters may work in tandem in helping a firm overcome innovation barriers. The study demonstrates how firms can leverage network and cluster resources. The empirical evidence indicates that the efficacy of cluster resources increases in the presence of network ties within the cluster. It also shows that firms can mobilize resources of distant clusters using their network ties. The study further demonstrates that resource-rich firms leverage networks resources more effectively than the resource-deficient firms do while resource-deficient firms leverage cluster resources more effectively than the resource-rich firms do. The dissertation makes important theoretical and empirical contributions to alliance, network, cluster, and innovation literatures. The research findings also have important managerial implications. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to describe through qualitative inquiry the professional identity that emerges as a woman attains the superintendency and to delineate those factors that facilitate and contribute to successfully attaining the superintendency. The research questions guiding the study were: (1) What patterns, themes, or trends emerge that characterize how female superintendents shape their professional identities? (2) What strategies do female superintendents use in establishing their professional identities? (3) What are the keys to successful entry into the role of superintendent? (4) Do female superintendents encounter "glass ceilings" on the way up to the position, and if, so, how are they overcome? The research design was a qualitative interview approach with descriptive methods of data collection. Seven participants were selected purposely through expert nomination on the bases of their availability, their willingness to participate, and their knowledge and experiences as women in educational leadership positions. Selections were also made according to size and geographic location of districts in which the superintendents worked, in order to study the possible differences and similarities in divergent settings. After data (interviews, informal conversations, interviewer's observation and reflective notes) had been gathered, it was coded using domain analysis onto matrices and from these matrices, conclusions were drawn through noting patterns and themes and making comparison and contrasts. The outcomes of this study identified that female superintendents acquisition to the position were enhanced by varied job opportunities and strong support of mentors. Themes identified in the development of a woman's professional identity through their shared stories and narratives were Makes a Difference for Kids, Powerful Personal Motivation and Drive, Thirst for Knowledge and Experience, and Knowing the Politics. Additionally, other themes explored based on the data analysis were pathways to the superintendency, mentors, supportive spouses, and perceived barriers. Findings did identify the following perceived barriers that limited advancement to the superintendency: difficulty in usurping male dominance in the position, stereotyping, and a woman's self imposed barriers. The women superintendents suggested strategies and made recommendations to aspiring female administrators. / Ed. D.

Mental health services suffer the substantial limitation of helping only those who seek their assistance. Previous research has demonstrated that mental health stigma, including social and self-stigma, is one of the most significant barriers to an individual seeking available mental health services. Additionally, low levels of social proximity to mental illness may be a significant factor in increased social and self-stigma. Informed by ecological systems theory, this research examined demographic (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, university) and social proximity factors (i.e., level of familiarity with mental illness and mental health services) that contributed to the mental health stigma associated with seeking mental health services within a university population. Web-based survey responses from 410 undergraduate students at two universities were obtained. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that while controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and university, having personally received mental health services predicted lower levels of mental health self-stigma. Consistent with previous findings, a significant predictive quality of social stigma towards self-stigma was also found. However, none of the models utilizing social proximity factors to predict social stigma were significant. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. / Ph. D.

No / Loyalty, its antecedents, and its consequences have been considered extensively. Store loyalty, in particular e-store loyalty, has not, however, received the same level of attention despite the increase in the number of organisations that sell directly over the Internet. This paper focuses on two antecedents of e-store loyalty, perceived switching barriers and satisfaction, and the way in which they interact. It found that customers do not consider themselves loyal to the e-store they frequent despite being largely satisfied, that the impact of switching barriers varies at different levels of customer satisfaction, and that what customers consider to be a switching barrier differs at different levels of customer satisfaction.

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